


Crazy for You

by llamaspice



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-02-07 02:37:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1881906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/llamaspice/pseuds/llamaspice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summer seems endless, tourists arrive at the beaches in droves, Niall gets sunburnt again, Zayn works at a snack bar, and when he tries to look at the bright side of things, he finds Liam.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crazy for You

**Author's Note:**

> It's taken me 23048203498234 years to upload something on this site again, and I am so so sorry. Life's been ridiculously hectic ever since my senior year started, but now that it's summer and I have nothing to do, I'll try and post more!
> 
> This is actually really old. I started writing it way back after I posted Wait for You. I had a lot planned out for it but then school happened, so this is all that I have. I really hope that people like it and if they do, I promise to try and finish it!
> 
> P.S. I recommend listening to Best Coast's album Crazy for You while reading, since it has largely inspired me to write this.

Niall told him to look on the bright side, so. That’s what he does.

Zayn is sitting behind the counter of the snack bar, watching tourists pass by in droves of sunscreen and shorts and bikinis and trunks. A kid with sunscreen slathered on his nose so thick that it gets on the rims of his ray bans somehow manages to get a shit load of sand on the counter, even though the snack bar is at least ten feet away from where the sand ends and the pavement begins. He doesn’t leave a tip (and neither does the next person, or the person after that).

Bright side, bright side. Right.

He scans the horizon, because hey, maybe there’s something out there that’ll make his shitty job worthwhile, and…

Beyond the obnoxious umbrellas littered across the sand, and the actual litter that lays on the cement before him, Zayn finds his bright side.

He’s there, across the pavement and right by the picnic area. He’s playing volleyball and God, Zayn is really, really fucking glad the snack bar is where it is because he’s got such a nice view of his abs and the way his arms flex and he can just barely hear his laugh over the din of a busy beach day.

And he’s perfect, Jesus Christ. Zayn’s pretty sure that if he wanted to, he could be in one of those calendars sold at the gift shop filled with tanned, toned models in swimming trunks and speedos (not that he’s like, actually flipped through them during his break before).

Zayn’s seen him before, actually. He’s seen him a bunch of times. He’s always there, without fail, tossing around a volleyball with his friends. Zayn’s mildly disappointed that it’s been such a long while and he still doesn’t know the guy’s name.

He’s watching as the beautiful-unnamed-man (b.u.m, Zayn thinks to himself, because he’s got a great one) jogs across the makeshift court, dives down so he can hit the ball up - the way the sun reflects off his skin and hair makes it seem like he glows golden.

Zayn wonders if everything his b.u.m does happens in beautiful, baywatch-esque slow motion.

And then it’s all kind of ruined because there’s a flash of blonde and oh God, Niall is lobster red again and when he takes his sunglasses off he’s left with their shape on his face, plastered on in the pale white of his unburnt skin.

Zayn laughs, though. “Forget your sunscreen again, Niall?”

Niall shakes his head vigorously, steps forward as though he’s being held up by string. “I was just trying to get a tan! I’m fucking tired of being pasty as fuck.” He sighs. “But hey, check this out!” Niall presses two fingers to his chest, then traces a curve beneath them - he’s made a smiley face, pale, pressed into his skin and fading fast. He throws his head back and laughs like he’s the funniest damned thing in the world.

Zayn thinks it’s one of the most Niall things to have ever Nialled.

"How much have you had?"

"None!" Niall says, but then he shakes his head again. "…I mean one. One and a half, maybe. Who the hell is keeping track, anyway?"

Zayn just smiles and wipes some more sand off the counter, because Niall is the kind of guy to pull a smile out of you like it’s nothing. “Hey,” He jokes, swatting playfully at him with his cleaning rag. “You should get out of here before you scare the customers away. You look like a giant lobster…thing.”

"I’m not! Look, someone’s comin’ over right now."

And then all the color drains out of Zayn’s face (he looks quite the opposite of Niall) because the b.u.m. is coming over, all tan and buff and smiling with his perfect fucking teeth.

"My b.u.m,” Zayn whispers, voice filled with a sort of reverent awe.

Niall whips around, eyebrows knitted together. “Your what now?”

But Zayn just grabs Niall’s arm and shoves him to the side. B.u.m walks up to the counter, rests his hands there. And up close, so gloriously up close, Zayn can see that he’s even more perfect.

He runs a hand through his windswept brown hair. Zayn feels faint.

"Hey," he says, smiling effortlessly, like Zayn is a friend he’s known for ages and ages and he’s just seen him for the first time in a long while. "How are you?"

Zayn’s taken aback. “Yes.” His eyes go wide then, because oh holy fuck, did he just say ‘yes’ to a question that warranted a more-than-one-syllable answer? He did. Oh God. Oh God. “I-I mean, yes, I’m great, thanks. I’m really good. H-how are you?”

Niall gives him a small smile at the corner of his burnt mouth. Nice recovery.

"I’m good, thanks for asking." He nods and he’s still smiling, and his eyes are all scrunched up and his lips look so soft and if Zayn didn’t have a good grip on himself, he’d leap over the counter and kiss him. "Can I get two ice creams, please? Chocolate." 

Zayn turns around and gets his ice cream; he hopes desperately that his hands aren’t shaking. But they kind of are. Jesus, he’s a wreck.

The guy pulls out his wallet, hands Zayn his money. And when he dumps a five into the tip jar, Zayn can only stare at him dumbly.

"Service jobs suck, I know." He sighs. "Worked one just like this about a year ago. Worst summer of my life." Then he starts to back away, and inside Zayn is screaming no no no, but the guy just waves at him. "Thanks!"

Niall pushes his water bottle towards Zayn. “You’re lookin’ a little thirsty, man.”

"Shut up." He says, slapping the bottle over. "I didn’t even get his name."

"Uh oh." Niall warns. "Don’t look now…"

But since Zayn is kind of an idiot, he looks up anyway. And then he sees him, his beautiful, perfect b.u.m, handing the other ice cream to a pretty girl who smiles at him, pushes her hair back behind her ear. Then she giggles. And if that isn’t enough she holds out the cone to him like he doesn’t fucking already have his own. He takes a lick.

Zayn places his forehead on the counter because of fucking course. He has the absolute worst luck in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I would appreciate any comments and feedback, as they would greatly motivate to continue this!!
> 
> EDIT: Since people so far have been (mostly) supportive, I'm going to finish this! Sorry if you didn't understand that I was hoping to write more, thought that was made very clear. Anyway, I'll add on to this when I can!


End file.
